Matthew 19:9: Espoused or Married Wife

Matthew 19:3-9 KJV

3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

The question that Jesus is being asked by the Pharisees is, "Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?" To put away one's wife for every cause was the view espoused by the liberal Rabbi Hillell and his students. They believed that a man could put away his wife for something as small as burning a meal. They held to the right of the man to put away his wife at his pleasure.

So, they are asking this question in light of their understanding of Deuteronomy 24. This is where Moses gives the regulations for putting away wives. So, the point I want to establish from this verse, and the following verses, is the kind of wife that is being discussed in this context. Is it only the espoused wife (Matthew 1: 18-20), or is it a married wife? The kind of wife being discussed in these verses, especially verse 9, has much to do with how one understands the teaching of Jesus on marriage, divorce and remarriage.

I think that it will become abundantly clear that the kind of wife that is being discussed in this text is the married wife, and not the espoused wife. Beginning with the question under consideration here in verse 3, we immediately realize that the premise of the question is Deuteronomy 24. So, if we can determine what kind of wife is under consideration in the question, then we will know the kind of wife that is under consideration in Jesus' answer. What kind of wife is being asked about by the Pharisees?

“When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.” Deuteronomy 24:1-2 KJV

Clearly from this text the wife under consideration is the married wife, for she will depart out of his house and go be another man’s wife. She must be a married wife, and not merely an espoused wife, for she is cohabitating with him.

So, the wife of the Pharisees’ question is the married wife, and therefore the wife of Jesus’ answer must also be the married wife. If she is not, then Jesus is answering a question that was not asked. It is impossible to understand Matthew 19 apart from the backdrop of Moses (Deut 24).

4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

In verses 4-6 Jesus answers the question of verse 3 on the premise of the first husband and wife. Jesus appeals to the beginning. He states that the man is to leave his parents and cleave to his wife. Again, this tells us the kind of wife that is being discussed; the wife of this text is the cohabitating wife. This is exactly parallel with Deuteronomy 24.

Jesus further proves that the kind of wife that He is addressing is the married wife by saying, “they shall be one flesh.” The phrase “one flesh” refers to the sexual union (1 Corinthians 6:16). So, the husband-wife that Jesus is addressing is the sexually joined husband-wife.

This “one flesh” husband and wife are married because Jesus says, “what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” It must be understood that Jesus is addressing regulations concerning marriage and not espousal.

7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

This proves my initial premise correct that the Pharisees were asking about Deuteronomy 24, and the next couple verses are going to prove that is what Jesus is responding to as well. What are the Pharisees quoting here? It can only be Deuteronomy 24, and Deuteronomy 24 is addressing the marred wife and not the espoused wife.

8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

So, Jesus responds to their appeal to Deuteronomy 24 by saying that Moses allowed divorce for uncleaness, because of the hardness of your heart, but I say from the beginning it was not so. When Jesus says, “Moses said, but I say,” He is giving His teaching concerning the same topic as Moses addressing, namely the divorcing of married, cohabitating wives.

This proves that the instructions that Jesus is giving here is God’s will concerning what Moses gave in Deuteronomy 24. Moses said, but I say, is contrasting two opinions about the same subject.

9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

“And I say unto you,” is Jesus contrasting His teaching with Moses in Deuteronomy 24 concerning married wives. “And I say unto you,” is Jesus giving what is to be taught by the Church. If Jesus is not addressing married wives Matthew 19:9 it makes gobbledygook out of the flow of this text. If this is not what Jesus is addressing it makes no sense whatsoever.

Jesus clearly, by the context and backdrop of Deuteronomy 24, is addressing married wives in verse 9. Jesus’ plain teaching is, if a person divorces their spouse and marries another, except for fornication (See Fornication: What Does It Mean Parts 1 & 2), they commit adultery. So, marital unfaithfulness is an exception to the rule: Whosoever divorces his spouse and marries another commits adultery.

Fornication: What Does It Mean? Part 2

In my post, Fornication: What Does It Mean? Part 1, I used sources to prove that in both the English and the Greek fornication includes sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than his/her spouse. The objection raised by those that hold to a no divorce and remarriage view is that when both adultery and fornication are used in the same text, fornication cannot refer to a sexual act committed by a married person.

In other words, if the word adultery is also used in the text (Matt 19:9), then fornication cannot also refer to adultery. They argue that both words cannot be used in the same text to refer to the same act. This is the point that I want to focus on in this post, and I am going to demonstrate that argument to be false by the scripture.

"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds." Revelation 2:20-22 KJV

In verse 20 John says that Jezebel seduced God's servants to commit "fornication;" yet, in verse 22 it is said that they committed "adultery" with her. Here is a case where both "fornication" and "adultery" are used in the same text and refers to the same act. This verse alone proves their argument wrong.

The same point can be made about Israel, God's wife, in the Old Testament. The reason that God put Israel His married wife (Jer 3:14) away was adultery (Jer 3:8); however, when she went after other nations God called it fornication (Ex 16:26 & 29), and said it was as a wife that commits adultery (Eze 16:32) and breaks wedlock (Eze 16:38). I must also point out that God is married to Israel at this point because she had borne him children (Eze 16:20).

The point is, what Israel did with the cities and nations about her was fornication, but the same act was adultery against God. Is was fornication with the nations because she was not in covenant with, but it was adultery against God because she was in covenant (married to, not espoused to) with God.

Apply this same logic to Matt 19:9 and you will understand why both "fornication" and "adultery" are used in the same verse. It is abundantly clear that Matthew 19:9 is referring to the married wife when you read the flow of the text. The wife of Matthew 19:9 is the same wife of Matthew 19:5-6, which all agree is the married wife.

Fornication: What Does It Mean? Part 1

In my experience a great deal of the divorce and remarriage debate centers on the definition of “fornication” in Matthew 19:9. The “no divorce” advocates argue that the use of fornication proves that Matthew 19:9 is addressing espoused (engaged) couples and not married couples. This is based on the idea that fornication can only be committed by a person who has never been married. I think that it is clear from the context of Matthew 19 that is not the case, but let that be as it may, I want to focus on the definition of fornication from both the English and the Greek.

ENGLISH:

“voluntary sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons or two persons not married to each other.”[1]

It is clear from this definition that fornication is not limited to people who are not married at all, but also to people who are not married to each other, although they may be married to someone. Anytime two people who are not married to each other have sexual intercourse it is fornication. Married people can commit fornication by having sex with someone with whom they are not married.

When a married person has sex outside of their marriage it is both fornication and adultery. It is fornication because they had sex with someone they were not married to, and it is adultery because the sex violated a covenant.

“voluntary sexual intercourse outside marriage”[2]

Here fornication is defined as, “voluntary sexual intercourse outside marriage.” The question that must be asked is, can a married person have sexual intercourse outside of their marriage? The answer must be yes. If a married person has sex outside of their marriage they have committed fornication.

“sexual immorality in general, esp adultery”[3]

This dictionary includes adultery in its definition of fornication. All adultery is fornication, but not all fornication is adultery.

GREEK:

The following are quotes from Greek scholars defining fornication. Greek scholarship virtually unanimously includes adultery in the definition of “pornea,” the Greek word for fornication.

“sexual intercourse in general…used of adultery.”[4]

“harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively idolatry: - fornication.”[5]

“in Matt. 5:32 and 19:9 it stands for, or includes, adultery”[6]

“it is plain that Matthew represents Jesus in both places as allowing divorce for fornication as a general term (porneia) which is technically adultery.”[7]

OTHER TRANSLATIONS:

“And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” Matthew 19:9 ESV

“I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” Matthew 19:9 ISV

“And I say to you, That whoever leaveth his wife not being an adulteress, and taketh another, committeth adultery. And whoever taketh her that is divorced, committeth adultery.” Matthew 19:9 Murdock

“And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except for lewdness, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoever marrieth her who is put away, committeth adultery.” Matthew 19:9 Webster

“And I tell you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except her unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, commits adultery.” Matthew 19:9 WNT

“And I say to you, that, whoever may put away his wife, if not for whoredom, and may marry another, doth commit adultery; and he who did marry her that hath been put away, doth commit adultery.” Matthew 19:9 YLT

CONCLUSION:

It is undeniable from the Greek that fornication includes adultery. It is also certain that the English word fornication is not limited to sex between two people who have never been married, but includes married people who has sex with someone other than his/her spouse.

Matthew 19:9 correctly uses the term fornication as an exception to the divorce and remarriage law, because sex outside of the marriage bond (i.e. fornication) is a valid reason for the innocent person to divorce and remarry.

---

[1] "fornication." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 24 Sep. 2010. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fornication).

[2] "fornication." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Harper Collins Publishers. 24 Sep. 2010. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fornication).

[3] "fornication." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Harper Collins Publishers. 24 Sep. 2010. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fornication).

[4] Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977), p. 532

[5] James H. Strong, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992), p. 364

[6] W.E. Vine, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishing), p. 465

[7] Robertson’s Word Pictures, Quoted from E-Sword version 9.5.1, Retrieved 09.24.10, http://www.e-sword.net/

Equal With God

Philippians 2:6 KJV Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

I submit this post at the risk of being thought a theological imbecile, but here it goes any way. Most of you know that I have been involved in a few public debates and have moderated a few others. The foremost subject that I enjoy hearing discussed is the Godhead. I also enjoy preaching and teaching it as well. So here are some thoughts on this verse.

I will not try to analyze the entire text as that would be entirely too time consuming for the purpose of this thread. I also understand that this is an incredibly tedious text with a lot of grammatical nuances.

One of the great grammatical nuances of this text is the word “form” translated from the Greek “morphe.” This is a topic of must discussion on all sides of the Christological debate. Does it mean nature as translated by the NIV , or does it means external appearance only? There is credible scholarship on both sides of this debate. While that would be an important and interesting discussion, that is not the intent of this post.

Then you have a great battle in theological circle as to how the phrase “equal with God” should be translated. In an attempt to explain this passage, depending on one’s Christological view, other translations are cited that give quite a different shad of meaning to this text than the KJV does.

Allow me, for the purpose of this thread, to assume that “equal with God” is the best and most accurate rendering of this passage and give some possibilities of this verse of scripture from a Oneness perspective.

TRINITARIAN ARGUMENT

I am making the following statement based on debate experience and not an official statement from official Trinitarian doctrine found in the Councils or elsewhere. The argument is frequently forwarded by Trinitarian debaters that the word “equal” necessarily infers two persons in the Godhead. They argue that, In order to determine equality you must have separate items for the purpose of comparison. You cannot have equality with only one thing. I think you understand the point without me having to belabor the point. So, the argument is, for Jesus to be “equal with God” he must be a separate person.

GRAMATICAL RESPONSE

The Greek word for “equal” is “isos” . This is the same word that is used in Acts 11:17 as “like” gift. This like gift is the one that fell at the beginning (Pentecost) in Acts 11:15. So Peter is defending the conversion of the Gentiles in chapter 10 by say that the Holy Ghost that they, the Gentiles, received is the same Holy Ghost as the one he received on the day of Pentecost. He uses “isos”, not as a term of contrast, but a term of identity. The isos/like/equal gift indentifies the gift of Acts 10 as the gift of Acts 2.

ATTRIBUTE OF ESCLUSIVITY

God asked the question in the Old Testament, who is like me or my equal (Isaiah 40:25 & Isaiah 46:5). Then He answers his own question by saying that he has no equal and that none is like him I(Isaiah 46:9). God has no equal and there is none like him, so that if you find one who is equal with God you have found God and not another.

Let me illustrate it as follows. A fingerprint is an attribute of esclusivity. No one has a fingerprint that is equal to mine. If you find a finger print that is equal to mine, you have found my finger print. Because it is something that belongs only to me, equality in this way would be identity, not contrast.

To further illustrate this point: what if someone with a prior criminal record committed a murder and left his fingerprint somewhere at the scene of the crime for CSI to find? While they may not know at the scene of the crime who the perpetrator, once they get back to the crime lab and run the fingerprint the crime lab data base and they find a fingerprint in the database that EQUALS the one at the crime scene they have indentified the murder. So again equality is proof of identity in this case.

When you run the fingerprint of God through the data base of scripture you are going to come up with Jesus. Since only God is what God is and Jesus is equal with God he must be God. Jesus possessed and possess every essential attribute of deity. Truly He is EQUAL WITH GOD!

Pardon the elementary nature of this post and thread.

Trip To Jamaica

I am really excited about the upcoming trip to Kingston, Jamaica. I am going for a week of doctrinal teaching and preaching. I will be presenting on the Oneness of God as well as other related topics: I am going to be preaching about the Church. I plan to teach one of the evenings about doctrine itself. I want to give a biblical definition of doctrine and discuss its essential value to the church.

It is an increasingly popular attitude among Christians to reject doctrine. There are those who teach against teaching doctrine. Ironically to teach against doctrine is a doctrine; it is the "anti-doctrine" doctrine. It is impossible to escape doctrine. So, we seek to teach doctrine that is in line with the Word.

I look forward to meeting the congregation in Kingston as I have never been there. I also look forward to being in their beautiful city and worshiping with the Apostolic saints of Jamaica.

Library: Glen Carbon, IL

I am at my favorite library here in Glen Carbon, IL. I am hoping to print off a set of notes for a lesson that I want to teach at my father-in-law's church tonight. I also sent a friend the forward to a book that he wrote. The title is, "Calling on the Name of Jesus." It is going to be a great book. It is a response to the modern Church of Christ view of silent (no formula) baptism. They argue that nothing has to be said when someone is baptized.

Jason does an excellent job rebutting this view. His book was birthed out of years of study in preparation for a number of debates over the last two decades. I think that he does the best job of any of the Oneness Pentecostals in defending the baptismal formula in public debate. I am excited about people getting to read this book.

You can also listen to the Weatherly-Reeves debate on the baptismal formula online. http://www.hwy65churchofchrist.org/Debates/ReevesWeatherlyDebate/tabid/98/Default.aspx

October 11-19 I will be preaching a youth conference in Kingston, Jamaica. I have never been to the Caribbean, so I am very excited about going. I am really looking forward to the worship services; I love the Jamaican way of worshiping. I will have several preacher friends going with me to keep me company, although they will not be a valid substitute for my wife.

I will really miss my wife. I will be gone for a total of 11 days on this trip. I will especially miss her while in Jamaica. The reason that I will miss her so much is I expect those days in Jamaica to be some of the best days that I have ever had, and I always like to share those times with my wife.

I am going to be doing a lot of doctrinal preaching (by request): Theology and Ecclesiology, as well as other topics. I look forward to preaching to those hungry young people as they seek to know God better.

I met the pastor of the church in Kingston while we were both preaching a conference together in the New England states. I also look forward to again seeing some of the other Jamaican pastors that I met in that conference. Can barely wait! I will be posting pictures here and on Facebook while I am there.

Preaching: Best Job Ever

Here are the Top 10 most gratifying jobs and the percentage of subjects who said they were very satisfied with the job:

Clergy—87 percent percent

Firefighters—80 percent percent

Physical therapists—78 percent percent

Authors—74 percent

Special education teachers—70 percent

Teachers—69 percent

Education administrators—68 percent

Painters and sculptors—67 percent

Psychologists—67 percent

Security and financial services salespersons—65 percent

Operating engineers—64 percent

Office supervisors—61 percent

(Read full article @ http://www.livescience.com/health/070417_job_satisfaction.html)

Doing Flips?

It's 5:45 am on Air Tran flight 623, from DFW to BMI, when a group of school kids on a history trip to Washington D.C. board the plane. One of the young ladies is seated next to me; I am in the middle seat in the row, and she is seated next to the window. Early on I became aware that this was her first time flying. She is approximately 13 years old, and very nervous. She is holding a pink elephant of the stuffed animal variety very tightly.

As we take off and get in the air, every time the plane banks for a turn she becomes visibly afraid. It was in one of those turns that I look at her and said, "just wait till they do the flips." With wide eyes and fearful heart she replies, "they're gonna do flips?" Then with remorseful heart and a giggle in my voice informed her that I was only joking.

Our Foster Son

My wife and I took in a one month old baby boy this morning around 11:30 am. We have fallen in love with him already and its only 5:23 pm. He has been abused by someone, not sure who or how. He has fractured ribs, and two broken legs. It is amazing how a 1 month old with broken legs can walk into your heart. While we don't know what the outcome of his case will be, so far as adoption is concerned, we feel blessed to have the opportunity to love and nurse him back to health.

We have had three little girls, and still have the first one that was placed with us, but this is our first boy and we are excited about having him. It was especially exciting to have my parents in town when we got him. They are also taken by his story and have fallen in love with him.

He is a chunk. At a month old he is wearing the same size diapers that our 17 month old foster daughter is wearing. At this rate, in a couple weeks or so we will be sharing suits. He has a prophet's name, so maybe if I let him wear my suits I will get a prophet's reward. I don't mind though because he has some really cool pj's that I can't wait to wear!

COGIC Timothy Wright Jesus Jesus Jesus Praise Break Gospel Music

Victory Over Betrayal

John 13:1-4 ESV

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,

3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,

4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.

Jesus nearing his passion, having loved his own until the end and ready to ascend to the Father, is seated at supper with his disciples. Judas, his betrayer, is also at the table. Jesus knew that the devil had already put it in his heart to betray him, and that Judas would carry out the will of the devil. Jesus response was most incredible. Instead of being distracted by the betrayal of Judas, he pushed forward toward his mission of redemption.

Jesus keeps three things in mind that empowers him to keep a proper perspective on his mission with his betrayer in his midst. Verse 3 says that Jesus knew: The Father had given all things into his hands. He had come from God. He was going back to God.

These three revelations will keep you through betrayal. If you can keep in mind that your betrayer, like Jesus' betrayer, can only betray your trust, but never what the Father has given you, where you have come from or where you are going, you will get victory over betrayal.

A Memorable Memorial Day

On a day when most Americans, at least the ones with good sense, are grilling out I am eating at a vegan restaurant. It is un-American I tell you! While normal Americans are eating hotdogs, pork steaks, steaks and hamburgers, I am stuck eating tofu. It is neither American nor Christian.

But, that is what I was more than willing to do for my father, who is a strict vegan. Actually it was not all that bad. Some of it is really good. While I still prefer a beef burger over soy, it can be made to taste really good. They also have a burger patty made out of nuts that is excellent.

The first vegan restaurant that I ate at, Spiral Diner & Bakery, I said to the smiling, light-loafered waiter, "I'll take a ribeye medium well." His liberal, new age grin swiftly disappeared and in return I garnered a very intolerant glare. I think possibly the Lord may have wanted me to stand up and yell, "Long live George W. Bush," but instead I allowed my allergic reaction to pain to lock my jaw. Being that my dad is so weak and frail from not eating meat, he would not have been able to help me fight my way out of the mess that I would have gotten into. :)

John Gill: The Pearl of Great Price

Matthew 13:45-46 ESV

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,

46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

"This parable may be understood of Christ's seeking, finding, and purchasing his elect: for, certain it is, that he has sought after them; which implies, that they were lost and going astray; expresses his great love to them, value for them, and desire after them; in doing which, he took much pains, and used much diligence: and certain it also is, that he finds them in redemption, and in effectual calling; and that they are to him a pearl of great price; as very precious to God, so highly esteemed of by Christ, as his portion, his inheritance, and his jewels. He has also parted with all he had for the sake of these persons; he became poor, emptied himself of everything, even gave himself a ransom for them, and so made a purchase of them, with the price of his own blood:"

This post was inspired by a sermon my father preaches called, "God's Jewels." (See: www.acfw.org)

The Necessary Risk of Maturity

Christian maturity, like infant maturity, comes with inherent risks. It is inevitable that a maturing infant is going to fall and scratch a knee, bloody a nose, or possibly worse in many attempts to walk. But the damage caused by trapping the child in perpetual infancy is much worse than bloody noses or scratched knees. It is not the normal course of life for a child to advance in age, but not maturity. It is better for the child to experience all of the hurts and pains of life than to mentally remain an infant while physically becoming an adult.

When it comes to our walk with God, let us mature, even at the risk of a few mistakes. It is better that we fail on our way to spiritual maturity than to perpetuate spiritual infancy, and never fall down and scrape our knees. Let's grow up in Christ in all things, and allow the Spirit to mature us.

Hope Is Rude

How dare hope ignore my decision to quit? Hope's assiduous insistence on my believing that my future is bright can get annoying. Hope refuses to listen to my calm, collected and evidence-based case proving my fatalistically determined fate of failure. Hope is rude! Instead of just accepting my demise, it is peskily insistent that I believe for greatness.

The other thing that can be annoying about Hope, when you have determined to quit, is its sneakiness. You think that you have convinced Hope that there is no hope, and you are content with being despondent, then out of no where you are blinded by the glimmer of possibility and all you can see for a moment is a bright future. But, then you have to calmly remind yourself that you are a loser. The only problem is, Hope does not give up so easily.

Hope always finds a way, like the woman with the issue of blood, to crawl and claw its way through the crowd of fear and unbelief and touch the hem of Jesus' garment. The Holy Spirit produces hope in the life of the believer. It is impossible to have the Holy Spirit and not have a hope that continues to resurface in your spirit. While the sinner may have to struggle to get a hold of hope, the believer has to fight to resist hope. Hope is a natural characteristic of the Spirit-filled life (like Grace, Hope is not a blue-eyed blond).

Great Song

The End Is Better

So often it is easy to get caught up in the negativity of the present that it blinds us from seeing the brightness of tomorrow. I say this from experience. It is not my natural emotional outlook to be an optimist; I have a natural proclivity to pessimism. Apart from the working of the Holy Spirit in my life I would probably be a very depressed person. I hate uncertainty. I am the type of person that likes to know how it is all going to unfold; and if I don't know, I assume that it is going to be bad.


With that being said, one must through the power of the Spirit adjust his carnal thinking to harmonize with the promises of scripture. Scripture readily reveals the magnificent plan of God for the life of the believer. As the Prophet Jeremiah said, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11)." The believer must always remember, that in spite of my present circumstance or condition, I have a future!


My favorite text is Ecclesiastes 7:8:

"Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit."

The writer says, "Better is the end of a thing than its beginning." My past dare not boast, "I am his greatest days." My present dare not say, "Your greatest days are now." For my future is the time that God has chosen to be my best. What I must learn is to be patient. The proud in spirit insist that he have everything now, by being unable to wait he misses the better that is reserved for the last. If the end is better, then truly the patient is better than the proud; for it is the patient, not the proud, that can endure to the end to receive the better.


It is God's method to progress toward the better. God is never regressive, but always progressive. The entire message of Hebrews can be summed up in one word, better. The message of "better" in the book of Hebrews is that the New Covenant, with all is parts, is better than the Old Covenant.

• Christ is better than the Angels-Hebrews 1:4
• Christ is better than Melchisedec-Hebrews 7
• Christ gave us a better hope-Hebrews 7:19
• Christ was made a surety of a better testament-Hebrews 7:22
• Christ has a better ministry, for a better covenant, based on better promises-Hebrews 8:6
• Christ was a better sacrifice-Hebrews 9:23
• Christ is a better resurrection-Hebrews 11:35
• Christ had better blood-Hebrew 12:24

God did not give his best in the beginning, he saved his best for last. This is illustrate again in marriage feast of Cana; the wine at the last was better than the wine at the beginning (John 2).


The Christian walk is one of increasing illumination. Your walk with God should be better today than at any point in your past. "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day (Proverbs 4:18)." Keep walking, it will get brighter!

Subtlety: The Forgotten Power of the Holy Spirit

When most think of the "power of the Holy Spirit" what comes to mind is rushing mighty wind, cloven tongues of fire and speaking with tongues. Some think of casting out devils, laying hands on the sick, or one of the nine gifts of the Spirit. While these may be manifestations of the "power of the Holy Spirit," there is a power of the Spirit in the believer's life that is quite forgotten, the power of subtlety.

This is the power of the Spirit that is overlooked because it works, at times, when I am unaware of its presence. It is not audible or visible, and is often undetectable, especially to those around me. It is a work of the Spirit that brings glory to no one but God.

It is the power of the Spirit that gradually and slowly sanctifies me in practical and ordinary ways. It is at work when I find myself saying no to things that I used to say yes to. It is that small change in attitude toward a situation that normally disturbs me. It is the will to resist the seduction of besetting sins. It is inner peace about a situation that had been ruling me in fear.

It is the Spirit working change in me that I did not realize happened until after the fact. It is not flashy or glamourous, but dynamic none the less. God help us remember that you are at work in us in the mundane, not just the mighty. It is this power of the Spirit that worked for Elijah: not in the strong wind, the earthquake, or the fire, but in a still small voice.